Breakfast for Dinner

Oh how I love going to cooking classes. This week I went to a week night class called "Breakfast for Dinner". My husband, who is not apt to join me in the kitchen ever, came along with me! This is partly because he loves me and wants to do things that I enjoy, and partly because he's a breakfast fanatic.

Once again, I forgot my camera...but hubby came to the rescue with his cell phone and we snapped a couple of pictures as we devoured the delicious food.

Here was the menu:

Cardamom-Pear Muffins
Crab and Roasted Red Pepper Strata
Huevos Rancheros
Rosemary-Mustard Sausage
The Ultimate Sticky Buns
Pecan Praline Bacon

I'm not actually a huge breakfast person. I eat it because I have to...and let's face it, the really good breakfast food isn't really that good for you anyway. I usually choke down some yogurt or an English muffin with honey on it. These recipes may not have been for calorie counting...but boy were they they tastiest darn things in the world! I'll share a few recipes now and save a few for future posts.

Cardamom Pear Muffins*
~I had never tasted anything like these~

• 1 2/3 cup all purpose flour (I bet you could use 1/2 whole wheat, 1/2 all purpose)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cardamom**
• 1 1/2 cups chopped, unpeeled pear***
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 large eggs

• 1 tbsp sugar (for topping)
• 1/4 tsp cardamom (for topping)
  

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin tin or line with paper cups (if using a loaf pan, grease the bottom of it).
2. Mix first 5 ingredients together in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix pears, vegetable oil, milk, and eggs.
3. Combine dry and wet ingredients and mix only to combine. Pour batter evenly into muffin tin (I use an ice cream scooper to ensure even distribution) and sprinkle topping over each muffin.
4. Bake for approx. 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.
5. Cool in tin for 10 minutes, remove and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

*This can be made as a loaf of bread, too. Instead of using muffin tins, use a loaf pan. Increase the cooking time to about 55-65 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

**This is a really unique spice. It's available in the grocery store, but can be a bit pricey. To make it last, store it in the freezer. If you prefer to use something cheaper, cinnamon will work. However, the cardamom has a really special taste and I highly recommend using it.

***We used Bosc pears. When you are baking with fruit, it does not need to be ripe. If you would prefer, you could use apples instead of pears. But I think the pears go perfectly with the cardamom.

Huevos Rancheros
~I am in love with this recipe~

Ranchero Sauce*

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3/4 cup poblano pepper, roasted and chopped**
• 2 cups canned crushed tomatoes
• 1 tbsp white vinegar
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp cumin, ground
• 1/2 tsp salt or more to taste
• 1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh lime juice

• Vegetable oil for pan-frying
• 8 corn tortillas
• 8 large eggs
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Pepper Jack cheese and/or sour cream to garnish

1. For the sauce, warm the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute the onion and garlic for 2 to 3 minutes.
2. Mix in the poblano pepper, tomatoes, vinegar, sugar, cumin, and salt and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for about 15 minutes, until thickened.
3. Stir in the cilantro and lime juice into the sauce shortly before removing from the heat.
4. Heat about 1/4 inch of oil in a medium to large skillet. Dip the tortillas into the oil, one at a time, and cook for a few seconds, until soft and pliable. Drain the tortillas on a paper towel.
5. Fry the eggs (we actually did them scrambled and likes them very much that way). Season with salt and pepper.
6. Top each tortilla with a fried egg (or a couple spoonfuls of scrambled). Sprinkle cheese and sour cream, if desired, and then top with ranchero sauce.

*The Ranchero sauce is wonderful to have on hand. Make a double batch and store the extra in the freezer. It can be used to top chicken or salmon, too. If you use it with eggs on Monday, save some and use it over chicken later in the week for a quick meal!

**To roast the peppers, pop them under the broiler, turning occasionally until they are blackened on all sides. Then, while they are still hot, put them in a bowl and cover the bowl to allow them to steam a little bit (this will help the skin come off easier). Place them on a flat surface and use the back of a knife to scrap the blacked skin off of the peppers. You don't have to get it all off, just most of it. The peppers are then ready to chop. For a shortcut, they are available canned.

Rosemary and Mustard Breakfast Sausage

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary (or 1/2 tsp dried)
• 1 14 oz. package bulk breakfast sausage, mild or spicy
• 2 tsp whole grain mustard (using whole grain works best)

1. Heat oil in small skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and chopped rosemary and saute until golden (about 10 minutes)
2. Transfer to a medium bowl. Add sausage, mustard, and generous amount of pepper. Mix gently.
3. Form into 12 two inch diameter patties (you can make more smaller ones, or less bigger ones too).
4. Arrange sausages on a heavy baking sheet (can be made 1 day ahead up to this point, store in fridge until ready to bake)
5. Set rack at lowest position in oven and preheat to 500 degrees. Bake sausages until cooked through, about 6 minutes. If sausages have not browned, you can broil them for 2 minutes.
6. Transfer sausages to paper towels to drain, then arrange on platter.

Pecan Praline Bacon
~ This was my favorite recipe of the night~

• 1 lb thick cut bacon (about 12 slices)
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 cup pecans, chopped fine

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. On rack of a large broiling pan (or baking sheet lined with a Silpat) arrange bacon slices in a single layer.
3. Cook in the middle of the oven for 10 minutes or until they just begin to turn golden.
4. In a small bowl stir together sugar and chili powder. Remove pan from oven and sprinkle bacon with sugar mixture and pecans.
5. Return pan to oven and cook until bacon is crisp and browned, about 5 minutes.
6. Transfer bacon, praline-side up, to paper towels to drain.
   

Friday Night Feast

We had an out of the ordinary week. My husband got into a car accident which, for the record, was not his fault (he's fine, thank goodness...the car is not so fine). I got suddenly sick and had to take the morning off of work on Thursday (I'm fine now, too).

By the time we both got home and settled tonight, we were worn out. We watched our DVR'd shows from Thursday (The Office and 30 Rock) and then I figured I might as well attempt dinner since we didn't have the money or energy to eat out. My meal plan from earlier in the week got pushed back a day due to the craziness that was the car accident and illness, so I still hadn't made the pork tenderloin I had thawed. I'm glad I got off my butt, because dinner couldn't have been simpler and we enjoyed a nice Friday night feast.

I must be some sort of idiot. I kind of thought that the pork tenderloin seemed a bit on the huge side and thought twice about buying it because it was pricey due to its weight. I decided to get it anyway because it was on sale and stuck it in the freezer. Meanwhile, I open the package today after thawing it and out pops two pork tenderloins. I didn't know they packaged them in pairs. I've been avoiding buying them at Giant all this time because I thought they were tenderloins from some mutant pigs because they were so big. Now I know...

Herb Pesto Pork Tenderloin

• 1 pork tenderloin (or 2*)
• 1 bunch fresh sage leaves (about a cup)
  
• 1 small bunch of Italian parsley (about a cup)
• 1/3 cup of olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled
  
• 1/2 cup pine nuts (lightly toasted in a dry pan)
• Salt and Pepper
• Red potatoes, washed and cut into even sized pieces
  

1. Combine sage leaves, parsley, olive oil, garlic cloves, pine nuts, salt, and pepper in a food processor or blender until smooth (creating a pesto).
   
2. Clean the pork tenderloin and remove the silver skin. Lightly season with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a skillet and brown each side of the tenderloin for a minute or two. (you can skip this step, if you want...but I like to brown meat before roasting it to lock in the juices).
   
3. Transfer pork tenderloin to a roasting pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Spread the pesto all over the top of the tenderloin.
   
4. Toss the potatoes in a bowl with some olive oil, salt, and pepper** Scatter around the pork tenderloin in the roasting pan.
5. Roast in a 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes until cooked through (some like it a little rosy in the center, some like it completely done). Let it rest for 10 minutes and then slice and serve.

*Because I ended up having two pork tenderloins, I went ahead and cooked both. We are going to chop up the other one and add to salad or rice tomorrow. This is a great strategy...use left overs to your advantage!
**I added some Mrs. Dash Italian seasoning for extra flavor

Recipe loosely based on one from Robin Miller...I modified it by adding parsley, instead of using only sage, and using pork tenderloin instead of turkey tenderloin.

Just One

This week was so very busy for me and I was not feeling well for most of it. I kept things quite simple for meals thanks to two things: Wegman's and my freezer. So I only have one true recipe to share in this post...the rest of the week, I just kind of put things together for us to eat.

I don't shop at Wegman's regularly because they don't have very many sales. I know many people argue that their prices are lower overall, and that may be true (depending on what products you are looking at)...but I have found that I save money by shopping the sales at other stores and going to Wegman's for certain things.

Do I make my own pizza dough? I sure do. Do I make it when I'm really busy? I sure don't.

I absolutely love using Wegman's pizza dough from their pizza shop. They sell their pizza dough (regular and whole wheat) in little plastic containers so that you can make pizza at home with ease. They even sell toppings and cheese (I think these are rather expensive and opt to assemble my own toppings). I head over to the produce department to pick what I'd like on top (usually mushrooms...we love mushrooms). Sometimes I buy the real mozzarella cheese (in ball form) when I want a treat...but I often just top it with shredded mozzarella. If I have another kind of cheese in the fridge, I throw a sprinkle of that on there too...just for kicks. I buy a $.99 jar of Ragu pizza sauce (over in the pasta aisle).

I take the dough ball and use my rolling pin to spread it this way and that way until it's the shape I want. I poke it with a fork all over so that it doesn't puff up when it bakes and then I rub a small bit of olive oil onto it. I bake it in a 375 degree oven for about 10 minutes. Then I take it out and spread pizza sauce on it, top it with cheese and various other nice things, and put it back in the oven for another 15 minutes or so. I always cut into the crust to see if it's baked inside...if it's doughy I give it a few more minutes. Sometimes I have to swab up a bit of moisture that comes from the melted cheese and toppings with a paper towel. Give it a minute or two to cool and then dive in.

So we had Wegman's pizza on Monday.

On Tuesday, I made pulled pork sandwiches. I like to buy pork tenderloins from Wegman's because they sell small ones (1 or 2 lbs). I much prefer the smaller ones to the gigantic ones they always sell at Giant. Not only are they easier to cook, but they are cheap too! The one I got for the pulled pork sandwich recipe below was only $3.95.

Lighter Pulled Pork Sandwiches
~This takes about an hour, but it's mostly "walk away" time~

1 can (15 oz) crushed tomatoes in puree
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tbsp spicy brown mustard
salt and pepper
1 pork tenderloin (about 1 lb), cut into 4 pieces
1/4 cut light mayonnaise
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp cider vinegar
1/4 tsp celery seed (I didn't use this because I didn't have it and didn't want to buy it)
1/4 head small green cabbage, shredded (I bought it already shredded in a bag)
Rolls (I used the ciabatta rolls I keep in the freezer)

1. In a medium saucepan, stir together tomatoes, sugar, garlic, mustard, and 1/2 cup water. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and add pork.
2. Simmer, covered, until pork is tender (18-20 minutes).
3. Transfer pork to a plate to cool and simmer sauce over medium, uncovered, until reduced by half (about 20 minutes).
4. Meanwhile, make slaw in a bowl by whisking mayonnaise, 1 tbsp vinegar, celery seed, and 1 tbsp water. Season with salt and pepper. Add cabbage and toss to coat.
5. Shred pork with two forks, and return to sauce. Stir in 1 tsp vinegar. Serve pork on rolls and top with slaw.

Recipe taken from the March 2009 edition of Everyday Food Magazine

On Wednesday, we had our faithful freezer standby: Turkey Chili. We have it often, I know, but it's such a filling and satisfying meal. It freezes so well and can be thawed easily as a last minute meal.

On Thursday, we had....wait for it....cereal! I came home from work exhausted so Sonny ate a big bowl of cereal while I took a power nap before Bible study. I woke up, had a bowl of cereal myself and we headed out the door. Sometimes you just have to eat cereal for dinner...it's just part of life.

On Friday, we went out for Chinese food at Han Dynasty in Exton. It was Sonny's birthday and he loves Chinese food. We'd heard good things about this restaurant and we thought it was quite yummy. The service was interesting because it seemed as though there was one waitress for 50 million people...but we weren't in a hurry and it didn't bother us very much. If you split the name of the restaurant up differently, it looks like "Handy nasty". This makes me laugh.

On Saturday, I spent a good deal of time preparing for Thanksgiving dinner. Thanksgiving in March, you may wonder? I will leave you in wonderment until my next post.